In November of 2015, Marvel Studios joined forces with Netflix to release their second in a planned series of five 13-episode television series. The show, Marvel’s Jessica Jones, was to be based on the 2001-2004 comic book Alias, and it’s central character, Jessica Jones. Alias, written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by Michael Gaydos and David Mack, was the first title… Read more →
Emily Carroll’s Through the Woods was oddly reminiscent of Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Scary Stories, along with Grimms’ Fairy Tales, were my go-to horror reads as a kid, so this collection really struck a chord with me. Maybe it is the narrative voice of folk tales, or particularly Carroll’s, but these stories were told beautifully. Modern,… Read more →
If you had a week to put out a chapter of a comic would you be able to do it? Maybe you can, but the majority of the western comics (excluding webcomics) release the next part of their stories after a month or so. They usually have different writers and artists as well, so the story may not flow like… Read more →
Growing up, I read quite a few comic books. I was the kid browsing comic book bins every weekend, and had a great relationship with my local shop owner. I started as a huge fan of Alien vs. Predator, all if its related incarnations, Mortal Kombat, and various Marvel franchises. Big guns? Ninjas? Superheroes? Aliens? That was my schtick. I… Read more →
So, when I was growing up there was this animated television show that I fell in love with. I had not thought about it for many years, but when we collectively read Akira, all the memories came flooding back. It was called Star Blazers, and it told the tale of a heroic crew fighting to save the Earth from the… Read more →
Much is made of the lack of well thought out female heroes in comics these days. While Marvel and DC have attempted to bring female heroes into the limelight as of late, the implementation, in my opinion, has been subpar. Marvel made a lot of noise about its new female Thor comic series but I was skeptical from the beginning.… Read more →
East vs. West. Saiyan vs. Kryptonian. For many reasons this seems to be the most popular fictional battle of heroes for fans of both Western comics and Japanese manga. One search for “Goku vs. Superman” on the internet will lead you to a seemingly endless amount of threads on comic book forums discussing the fictional clash of titans. It makes… Read more →
When walking into a library in America, one can look through the comics section and find American comics as well as a very wide range of manga. Manga and anime have had a great influence on American culture and the media that we produce. American comics have also had a influence on Japanese comics and culture. I argue that Japanese… Read more →
I actually first discovered Fun Home last Spring, when a Broadway-obsessed friend showed me a clip from the Tony Awards in which cast members of the musical version of the book sang the song Ring of Keys, in which a young Allison Bechdel has a moment of self-discovery upon seeing a butch woman for the first time, desiring the freedom to act… Read more →
From 2005 to 2008, one show was dominate in the cartoon world. Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender was a huge commercial success and critically acclaimed children’s show winning multiple awards and gaining a huge following as the show progressed. It was praised for it’s deep themes, intense action, and beautiful hand drawn artwork that far exceeded most children and adult… Read more →